This breakout session will attempt to define the foundations of a 'wiki culture' within an organisation. The page defines a number of characteristics of wiki culture and attempts to specify them in a way that is appropriate corporate cultures.

An understanding of the wiki culture is important when using and managing a wiki because it helps ensure that the users are getting the most out of it. If a bad culture is established, it can make the wiki a much less effective tool for organisational work.

Typically, a good wiki culture is one where as many people as possible are involved in the wiki in constructive ways. People may be involved at various levels, from simply reading the content or making basic edits, right through to wiki champions who will synthesize and improve the information within the wiki. So a good culture should promote a higher involvement amongst users, which will in turn improve the content and usefulness of the site. A wiki with a good culture should be a fun place to be.

Instructions:

1. Read the definitions below
2. Create a page for your group (under the appropriate link in the left navigation bar)
3. Write down the vision, scope, guidelines and rules that apply to your organisation
4. Make sure you look at what other groups are doing

Cultural Definitions

The first step in establishing a good culture is to define a broad vision of how the wiki will function. This broad vision is especially useful for new users to understand what is expected of them when they first dive into the wiki. It is then useful to go beyond a broad vision and set up the scope for the content, guidelines that give concrete and practical steps for using the wiki and, of course, rules that must be obeyed within the wiki.
Every organisation will have a different vision, guidelines and rules for their wiki. Organisations with multiple wiki installations may even have different cultural definitions for each wiki. It is also important to note that the characteristics of a wiki will change over time, so the cultural definitions for a wiki, like most pages, should be editable by the user community.
As an example, Wikipedia have what they call Foundation Issues, which are a series of points that define how Wikipedia is meant to be used.
The following points are examples of typical definitions that may be useful as a starting point in defining the vision, guidelines and rules for the wiki.

Vision

The vision of the wiki is defined by a series of broad statements about the overall ideas behind the wiki. Probably the most important vision statement for the wiki is one that declares the openness and inclusiveness of the wiki. The sample points below emphasis openness and accessibility and the most important components. Inevitably, there will be exceptions in any organisation where restrictions are necessary, but these restrictions should be exceptions to the prevailing vision.

Example Vision Statements:

All members of the organisation are free to contribute to the wiki Unless specifically restricted, all information in the wiki shall be open for everyone in the organisation to read, edit or delete. Communication within the wiki shall be done with honesty, respect and courteousness

Scope

The scope defines the boundaries for wiki usage.
If there is a single wiki installation for the organisation, then in may be possible to remove this definition and just have a vision statement that says something like 'the wiki shall be the first choice for information storage'.
There may be some specific content for which a wiki is meant to be used. An example may be something like 'the wiki shall be the primary repository for safety information'.
However, because wikis are very flexible and tend to find their own content, it is probably most efficient to define the scope as a series of exclusions. This is particularly important if there are existing repositories that must be used for specific purposes. For instance, the scope may specifically exclude information about an organisation's customers because their information is maintained in a special application.
The scope can specify that the wiki may be used for some subjects, but it is not the primary source of information.
Like all of the cultural definitions, the scope is something that will change as the wiki matures and users A very broad example of the scope for the wiki may be

Example Scope:

The wiki shall be used for all communication between staff unless a specific application exists that is mandated for use.

Guidelines

Guidelines are practical steps that help people make decisions about using the wiki site.

Example guidelines

Unless specifically backed-up by references, everything on this Wiki is an opinion, this wiki is not a forum for original research. Respect copyright and ensure that all copied work is credited appropriately. Never intentionally misrepresent or suppress other people's opinions. Be especially careful about deletion. Use good wiki style Use Wiki editing tips Use Wiki ettiquete

Rules

Rules are necessary for any culture, but they can be a negative way to manage people and so care must be taken not to restrict the culture too much by overstating the rules or adding too many rules. Most of the rules for normal internet use will apply, so it may be just enough to link to the organisations usage policy. Keep in mind that some existing rules may be too restrictive and may need to be changed to help foster the wiki culture. An example may be:

Example rules

All normal rules governing electronic communications also apply on the wiki